Girl Meets Perfect
by XxFanficzxX
Summary: When Riley and Auggie's parents start to fight, their Uncle Shawn visits their family to help out with the kids and Cory and Topanga. But as Maya's life begins to grow more and more unfortunate, Riley discovers that Shawn isn't only visiting to help out around the house. When Shawn is forced to admit one of the hardest secrets of his life, Maya's world will never be the same
1. No Talk, More Sketti

ooo

•  
The moment Riley Matthews stepped through the door, the taste of the air changed, as well as the beat of her heart, the delighted tint of her thoughts, and the undying hope that she had built up inside of herself.

Something was different, wrong in specific, and Riley could feel it with every sense possible.

She strolled slowly into the front room, struggling to find out what had changed with just her mind. Riley's curious, brown eyes trailed around the living room and up and down the dark painted walls. She inhaled heavily, soaking in more of the unfamiliar essence that flooded the world around her.

Her eyes continued to wander until they met with almost identical, smaller, and much more innocent brown eyes. The eyes appeared deprived and wondering, full of self worries and clueless questions.

Riley broke the confusing gaze between her and her younger brother, August Matthews, by tilting her head to the side and opening her mouth to speak. "Auggie, where's mommy and daddy?" she asked August, purposely speaking in a sweet and careful tone to the five year old little boy.

Auggie shook his head swiftly and rubbed his stomach, still watching Riley walk in. "I don't know, Riley, but I'm hungry and my tummy hurts," he replied while puffing out his lip, carelessly.

When Riley had a bad instinct, she felt the sudden urge to act upon the feeling as soon as possible. Riley returned Auggie's disagreeing gesture by shaking her head back, and lightly saying, "No Auggie...mommy will make you food when you tell me where she is. I don't know how to cook," in a quirky tone, stepping to the side as Auggie stood up in front of the couch, crossing his arms out of posture.

Auggie unknowingly shrugged, not putting too much thought into the whole concept. He wasn't an "overthinker", unlike his older sister; he was too young to understand reality.

"Mommy and daddy are both in their room. When I asked mommy for Sketti, she said that her and daddy had to talk."

When August said the word "talk", Riley's heart seemed to nervously skip a beat skip a beat, and then return as a million speedy thumps at once. Their mother, Topanga Matthews, barely ever used the word "talk" when it came to her and Cory's marriage. Topanga used the word "talk" when Riley made a mistake, or when she had to be taught a lesson. "Talk" was mentioned when August didn't finish all of his dinner, and when he refused to complete his unspoken chores. "Talk" was an unfriendly and warningly word in Riley's case, and it was very rare of her mother to have the words "Cory" and "talk" in the same sentence.

Riley was evidentially slightly overreacting over this whole concept. Her parents had never fought, at least not in her presence. She had nothing to fret about, in all honestly, but Riley was wiser than most people her age, and knew that there was a beginning, middle, and an end to everything, whether that thing was a story or real life.

She decided against feeding August at the point for two clear reasons. One being that she wasn't experienced with cooking anything but eggs and cookies, definitely not the spaghetti that Auggie craved day and night. Secondly, her heart was thriving to discover what was going on between her mother and father.

Afraid to upset the five year old boy, Riley didn't offer him an answer or a choice to the request he demanded, but instead responded by turning around and stepping out of the apartment's main room, leading her own way to her parent's room.

She could only hear a faint patter of back and forth voices from the position she was in, but Riley didn't want to seem any nosier than she was already being, and risk the trouble of getting caught snooping.

The sentence _"What would Maya do?"_ was being changed over and over again throughout the air in Riley's scrambled up mind. "What would Maya do?" she questioned herself out loud, unconsciously taking a tiny, harmless step closer to the white door, slowly leaning forward.

Riley took a deep, comforting breath, and softly tucked her brown curls behind her left ear, quietly pressing the side of her head against the hard, wooden door, insisting to hear what her mother and father were saying.


	2. Locket It This Way

xxx

•  
Maya Hart pulled open the unlocked door to her house, throwing it closed behind herself. Today, unlike most days, Maya had decided not to go home with Riley to the Matthews's house, but take some time to herself in her own, unfamiliar feeling house.

Maya breathed in a tiny breath of the air around herself and hopelessly called out, "Hello?!" She unsurprisingly received not even a creek of the floor in response, causing her to feel as if a familiar mist of loneliness clouded her thoughts and vision.

Maya didn't expect her mother to be home. She wasn't hoping for anybody to be there, standing behind the kitchen counter, waiting for her to arrive home with a giant dinner, or a batch of freshly made cookies. Maya was aware that her living situation hadn't adjusted during the seven hours that she was rotting away at school, though she still managed to call "hello" through the empty house and she stepped inside.

While Maya trudged throughout the messy walkway and into the kitchen, her black, leather combat boots clinked against the wooden floor, echoing against the walls of the hollow home as if it were a game of ping-pong.

She reached her destination of the refrigerator and yanked it open carefully, allowing the chilly gust of air to refresh her from the heated house.

As usual, Maya's broken blue eyes skimmed the empty refrigerator shelves, knowingly examining the lack of foods and beverages. There was just about nothing left for Maya to eat, not satisfying her recent hunger.

She kneeled down slowly and reached for a small apple that sat alone in the back of the tiny fridge. Maya softly closed the refrigerator door and sighed heavily, beginning to reconsider her choices in life, and what led her to this. Maya wasn't even sure if the situation she was currently in was her own fault, but she knew that she couldn't fix it now, not on her own.

She strolled back over to the worn out and torn apart leather couch and plopped down on it, tired because of the long walk from John Quincy Adams Middle School to where she lived.

She leaned her head back against the stale couch cushion and took a bite of the apple, which led to three more swift and hungry chomps, alerting Maya that she was starving.

Maya moved the apple away from herself, surprised by the person she was being. She sighed for the second time, then let herself begin to devour her snack again, but this time in a more controlled fashion.

Maya sat up straighter and placed the apple down on the table, aware that she would probably never remember to come back and dispose the fruit.

Leaning her left arm on top of the couch's built in arm-rest, Maya inhaled heavily and started to offer herself some time to think. She repeated this process almost every day, while home alone. It was the time that she could sort her inner-battles out and keep herself in the right mind.

Maya mentally debated whether she should've went home with her best friend, Riley Matthews, or have done what she rarely did, and separated paths with Riley to walk home on her own to her real house. Her lonely, empty, alone real house.

If Maya was to journey off to the Matthews, then she would've been greeted by the warm welcome of Riley's mother, Topanga Matthews, containing a hug and a friendly smile.

Auggie would've maybe speeded up to the feet of the two teenage girls, his sister and her best friend, and would have given them a hug or probably would have had made a silly and childish request.

Cory Matthews, Riley's father, would have cracked a lame or sarcastic joke, but would still be just as welcoming and close to Maya as the rest of that large, delightful family.

It appeared to Maya that her own house didn't exactly feel like a home to her. The furniture and scent of the air was unfamiliar and new to the young, confused girl.

Maya's mother, Katy Hart, was only home for sections of time during the week, and wasted her life away serving people meals at a low-paying diner. She wasn't very close to Maya at all, for sure not as close as she was a couple of years ago, when Maya was too small to move or say a word.

Maya's mother honestly never asked her about her day, or gave her any compliments. She didn't take Maya out shopping, she couldn't bother to find the time to pack her teenage daughter a school lunch, let alone give her a loving hug. The most Maya Hart would ever usually receive from her mother was mindless hello, as if they were strangers jostling past each other through the crowded streets of New York City.

Katy Hart had her moments, though. The last time Maya felt close to her was a couple of months before, on her fourteenth birthday. Maya's mother had lovingly worked overtime in order to pay for the golden locket that Maya wore around her neck day after day. This locket was an extremely valuable treasure to Maya, and she made sure to keep it close to her heart. It was the most she ever had; the locker contained love, family, passion, and beauty.

Maya lifted her right hand up slightly and stroked the surface of the locket with her thumb. She took a small breath and closed her eyes, remembering the day she was rewarded that locket like it was only yesterday.


	3. What Would Maya Do?

ooo

•  
Riley pressed her head firmer against the door, now set off and determined to decipher the words her parents were saying. Though deep down inside, there was a heavy pit in her stomach, still terrified of being caught and later punished.

 _I could get hit by the door,_ Riley nervously thought to herself, letting out quick and light breaths as she closed her eyes to calm herself. "What would Maya do?" Riley kept repetitively whispering to herself, encouraging herself to be like her best friend, Maya Hart, and push the limits.

Maya was a rebellious, witty teenage girl. She was popular, a dare-devil and hilarious, which caused Riley to want to be more like her. Riley often pushed herself to be more like Maya and slightly "break the rules", which was what encouraged her to commit most of the daring stunts, which she would rarely ever do.

Riley gasped, but immediately put her own hand to her mouth as she heard her mom say, "No, it's not my fault!" in a loud, warning sort of tone.

Riley had before figured that her parents never fought, they were always so delighted and _perfect_ together. Riley must admit, she has never seen any marriage like the one her mother and father, Cory and Topanga Matthews, shared.

She unsurely reminded herself that every relationship has a mini bump in the road, and that her parents would quickly overcome their problems in an instant, like they always had done in their teenage years.

When Riley Matthews was unable to make out Cory's next reply to Topanga, the horrified twisted emotion in her stomach grew even stronger. She fought the urge to leave the doorway, proceeding to repeat, "What would Maya do, what would Maya do?" to herself, continuously.

 _Maya would remain against the door and push to find out the problem...then solve it!_ Riley mentally answered herself, softly biting her lip and starting to breath heavily.

As the sudden bickering between Cory and Topanga increased, the anxious aching in Riley's stomach worsened rapidly. "Riley!" she faintly heard a small voice, one that sounded like Auggie's tone, call out her name, but forcefully ignored it and kept her head pressed against the white door.

While the sound of the fighting became quicker and more back and forth, Riley's mind jumbled itself up, as she anxiously closed her eyes to retain a clear sense of mind.

"What would Maya do?!" Riley squeaked out again, talking to herself in an attempt to calm down.

Suddenly, she was answered by a deep voice, startling her out of her trans of anxiety. "Well she definitely wouldn't do the right thing," the voice replied, hinted with a sense of humor, but concerned tone in his words.

Riley jerked her head up off of the door and spun around the face the person. Surprisingly, she her eyes met with Shawn Hunter's, who she referred to as Uncle Shawn, was standing still in the middle of the cleared walkway, crossing his arms and smiling comfortingly.

"Unnnncccclllle Shawn," Riley greeted him awkwardly, carefully taking a step away from the door. She knew that he had seen her snooping around, but silently hoped that he wouldn't punish her for it.

On the other hand, Riley was confused on why her Uncle Shawn was even there. He usually couldn't visit on behalf of his job, which required him to travel constantly. What Riley didn't know was that when Cory and Topanga started their argument, about three to four days ago, Cory called his best friend, Shawn Hunter seeking advice. Shawn provided all of the comfort to Cory that he could manage, but knew that he needed much more than a ten minute phone conversation. Shawn had cleared his schedule and canceled some events, in order to fly back to New York to help be there for Riley, Auggie, Topanga, and of course Cory. None of the Matthews knew that Shawn was visiting, though.

"Come on, kiddo, let's go grab something to eat. Auggie is in getting his shoes on and he's hungry!" Shawn offered to Riley, taking another step towards her and laughing under his breath at himself.

Riley took a deep, heavy breath, and shook her head slowly, immediately denying Shawn's offer to grab some snacks. Riley's shoulders slumped as she muttered, "Well, I've kinda lost my appetite..."

If anybody knew about nervousness and family issues, it was Shawn. He knew in the back of his mind that Cory and Topanga would definitely overcome their current issues and everything would tie itself together in an even stronger knot sooner or later, but didn't want to try to comfort Riley with a bunch of "It will get betters!" Shawn decided that it would be best to let Riley's spying incident pass and move on to a new topic. He wanted to get Riley's mind off of her parent's issues, though he was aware that she wasn't used to Cory and Topanga bickering? To be honest, who was?

"Oh...well you don't have to get anything to eat. Let's just all go out, then. We can grab Hart on the way and do something fun; it's on me," Shawn smiled at Riley, nodding his head as he spoke. Riley took three more small steps away from the door and nodded back in a rushed way. She slinked over nervously next to her Uncle Shawn, and peered up at him in a deprived way.

Shawn let out a heavy sigh, feeling sorry for poor Riley, and placed his hand comfortingly on her shoulder, protectively leading her away from her parents room and into the living room. She found Auggie innocently struggling to tie the lace of his red sneakers, which made her feel a little bit more safe and better.

Even though Riley was confused, she was excited that Shawn had came to visit her at the time. She was happy that he was going to take her out with Auggie and pick up Maya on the way. Knowing that somebody understood her enough to distract her gave her a warm and protected feeling inside, though that hint of care still couldn't overcome the anxiety of her parents fighting that was stooping over Riley like a dark and heavy cloud.


	4. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

xxx

Maya continued to stroke the shiny locket softly, silently admiring the jewelry as it brought back memories.

A couple of months ago, on Maya's fourteenth birthday, Maya thought that her mom had forgot about her. Katy Hart didn't even say good morning to her daughter, and left the house for her job at the diner, like she does every other normal day. Maya was only slightly hurt, but not disappointed or surprised.

Maya had excitedly walked to the Matthews's, who purchased her a giant, delicious cake and a small, thoughtful gift. What the Matthews had done for Maya's birthday was very sweet and special to her. She was glad to know that somebody cared, and that she had a family, even if it wasn't by blood.

Also, Cory's best friend, Shawn Hunter, was at the Matthews's house that day to kindly celebrate Maya's birthday with them. It was a crazy day, but was full of excitement. Riley had sent Shawn off to meet Maya's mother without permission, and Maya thought that she was going to loose him; that Hunter would run off just like her biological father did. Katy Hart wasn't good at keeping things that she loved.

Later that night, Maya's mother surprised her and purchased her a golden locket. It was almost identical to the one she had picked up from a Lost and Found a little while ago, but there was one hug difference, this locker contained love. It was more special to Maya for a reason that she couldn't seem to understand.

Maya raised her unconsciously eyebrows and reminded herself how lucky she was to have people who cared about her. Maybe she was overreacting about her living situation, maybe she didn't need a father to be happy.

 _Knock, knock, knock_

Three heavy knocks startled Maya out of her imagination. The three loud knocks were followed by five more tiny taps. Nobody really visited Maya when she was home alone, so she grew very confused and slightly curious.

Maya shrugged her shoulders and dropped the locket, letting it hang down her neck in a necklace position. She yawned quietly and jerked open the door, causing it to let out a creaking screech.

In the doorway was Riley, Auggie, and Shawn Hunter. When Maya saw him, she smiled quickly and immediately. Other than Cory Matthews, Shawn was the closest thing Maya had to a father. Hunter reminded her of herself, which Maya extremely enjoyed. He understood her absent parent situation and rebellious ways.

One time, Shawn had taken Riley, Auggie, and Maya out on a road trip. It was the farthest she had ever went and the most excitement she felt in years. Even though Shawn rarely visited New York, Maya adored it when he could take the time to do so. She definitely loved Hunter like family and was amazed that he was here in person again.

Shawn looked at Maya and nodded, "Hart," he greeted her, trying to hold back a smile to appear tough.

Maya flattened her grin as well, mimicking Shawn's grim expression. She shot him a small nod back and said, "Hunter."

As Shawn crossed his arms in a conceded way to tease Maya, Auggie tilted his head up at him and giggled a little. "You wanna go somewhere with Riley, Auggie, and me?" Shawn wondered raising his eyebrows. Maya lifted her eyebrows as well and copied his stubborn looking stance.

"Yeah!" Maya agreed excitedly clenching her fists to her hoodie and nodding swifter.

Shawn narrowed his eyes, "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Good," he added playfully, finishing the back and forth, joking debate. Maya's smile spread back as she stepped out of the door, standing in front of Riley, Shawn, and Auggie.

Before Maya could do so, Shawn pulled the door closed by himself. She looked up at him and smirked, then said, "Ah Hunter, you beat me to it."

Shawn laughed a little and grinned at her and shook her head.

Maya's day before now wasn't really bad at all. It was going along like any other normal day of her life, but at that point, it had turned into the highlight of her week. When Maya stopped laughing at herself, she glanced over at Riley, still breathing quickly from the giggles.

Riley didn't speak a word; she hadn't even greeted Maya at the door when Shawn arrived to pick her up. It didn't take a scientist to realize that something big was wrong with Riley, and Maya felt as if it was up to her to pick up the pieces. Though Riley was always so smiley; Maya couldn't imagine anything being a problem to her.

"Riley, what's up?" Maya questioned the brunette in a concerned sort of tone, causing Riley to jerk her head towards her in response. Out of the corner of her eye, Maya noticed as Shawn glanced back at the two girls, examining Riley's facial expression.

Riley waited a brief minute to respond, but then blurted out, "Maya, what's it like to have an absent father?"


	5. Hurt, Sad, Scared

ooo

Riley waited a brief minute to respond, but then blurted out, "Maya, what's it like to have an absent father?"

By Maya's sudden wounded expression, it was evident that Riley's question hit her close to home. Shawn's expression morphed from excited to shocked; he wasn't expecting Riley to ask Maya a personal question in a time like this at all.

Deciding to leave the two girls alone to discuss everything, Shawn looked away from them and went back to having small, meaningless chats with Auggie. Maya inhaled heavily and quickly trailed her eyes away from Riley to stall a moment before answering her question. Maya, of course had discussed the topic with Riley before, and Riley wasn't clear with the reason she had asked her such a thing. Maybe she wanted to avoid her own personal thoughts and mourn over somebody else's.

As Riley watched Shawn turn away awkwardly, she immediately felt a pang of guilt in the pit of her stomach, realizing that she had hurt Maya slightly, and distributed or confused her Uncle Shawn. "No Maya...I'm sorry. Don't answer that," she muttered, shaking her head, and glancing away as well.

Maya didn't reply to Riley's self-response for a while, and everything formed into an awkward silence. Shawn glanced back at Maya again, protectively checking if she was alright. Riley tilted her head down, feeling ashamed of herself.

Out of nowhere, Maya replied in a loud, but calm tone, "It's kind of hard to explain. You see, I don't love my Clutterbucket of a father; he's like a stanger," she sighed heavily and paused for moment.

Shawn started walking slower so he could listen to Maya talk, as well. He had grown up with a similar living situation, which helped him understand Maya and slightly concerned him. The only difference between Maya's mess of a life and his own, was that his mother was the one who was "absent."

"But I kind of wish that he would've stuck around, so I could've loved him, you know..." Maya said in a tough voice that made her sound confident and strong, but Riley could tell that she was internally weak by the deprived look in her eyes. Riley didn't say anything back, just looked down. She wasn't excepting anyone to say anything after that, but ironically, Shawn stopped walking for a second and opened his mouth to speak.

Riley took a deep breath and paused her steps as well, along with everybody else. "Maya," Shawn started to say, catching her absent attention. Maya glanced up at him quietly, tilting her head in response.

Riley wasn't expecting Shawn to say anything back that would hurt Maya. Actually, she was figuring that he would tell her something that would make a slight impact on her feelings.

"You're not alone...don't be upset. I know how you feel," he explained to her, mentally referring to himself. Riley nodded and shot Shawn a thumbs up, which he returned immediately.

Maya's eyes widened with surprise and gratefulness, causing a sorrowful pit to form in Riley's stomach. Maya wasn't expecting anyone to care, thought Riley, feeling a blank and empty sort of emotion. Riley honestly didn't know what it was like to not hope for things; Riley was the most optimistic person you'd ever meet, especially when it came to Maya's personal problems.

Maya pursed her lips and gave Shawn a quick nod, appearing sturdy but still evidently amazed on the inside. If anybody could notice that feature of containment, it was Shawn Hunter. He felt the affect he held on Maya with the words he had previously said, and grinned proudly for himself at her. Maya beamed thankfully back, and with no words said, everyone went back to walking straight down the street.

The whole walk back to the car, Riley noticed that Shawn kept smiling. For a moment, she forgot about her problems because of the happiness she suddenly felt for Maya. Riley hoped that one day, her Uncle Shawn would be able to stay longer; long enough that he could become some what of a father to Maya. Also, Riley knew that her father missed hanging around Shawn often, even if he acted clueless about his bestfriend being away for so long.

The thoughts of Shawn and Cory reminded Riley of the current problems she was facing between her parents. The uneasy feeling resumed in her stomach as her mind split blank. She considered telling Maya about what was going on, but could't build up the words to describe how she felt at the moment.

 _Hurt._

 _Hurt, sad, scare_ d


	6. A Bad Bad Day

xxx

After a brief carride to a Chilli's near by Maya's house, Maya lunged the car door open and hopped out of the car, slightly slamming it shut in an eager sort of way. Shawn slowly got out of the car, glancing over at Maya as she did so hastly. "Chill out, Kiddo, you're going to wreck my ride," he joked to Maya, earning a little giggle from Riley and a confused expression from August. Maya raised her eyebrows and leaned back against the door, gripping the front edges of her torn jean jacket.

While Shawn carefully pushed his door closed, in order to tease Maya, causing her to comment, "Hurry up, old man! The resturunt's going to close before you get out of the car!" As Maya began to loudly laugh at her own joke, Shawn walked up to the other side of her along with Auggie, snickering as well. He was a lot like Maya and didn't view her jokes as anything personally.

After a slight moment, Riley approached the trio and stood closely and silently next to Maya. Maya glanced over to the right side of her, noticing something that she felt guilty for not realizing earlier.

She was so caught up in her playful banter's with Hunter, it hadn't come to her senses that Riley was being uncomfortably and unusually quiet. Maya examined her face, picking up an evident worrisome expression and a familiar sense of content loneliness. Maya immediately grew concerned; she was very protective over her best friend, Riley. Riley was like family to her, as well, maybe even more of family than Shawn was. She couldn't bear to see her upset, and knew that Riley would openly explain her misfourtune to her if she asked.

"Ri, are you okay?" Maya questioned Riley, slowly catching her attention. Maya notied that Riley wasn't hesitant about ranting to her, but more tongue-tied. At first, she just stared straight at her bestfriend with a meaningless expression as they quickly walked into the front doors of Chilli's. Shawn glanced back at them again, knowing that Riley and Maya needed their alone time to talk.

"Uhm..Maya, Riley, I'm going to bring Auggie up to the front to order. You two can sit down at a table and wait if you'd like," he offered to them, not intentionally sounding aware of the girl's need to talk. Maya smiled gratefully at Shawn, then towards Riley, who's empty facial expression seemed to drag on. Riley grabbed Maya's arm and rushingly pulled her over to a table far away from the front counter and the waiters. Maya giggled at her reaction and allowed Riley to yank her into a small booth, throwing herself on the left side.

"Maya today has been bad! Bad, bad, bad!" Riley explained in her usual quirky tone of words, nervously tapping her fingers against the table. Maya leaned one arm back against the seat cushion, shaking her head at Riley's choice of speech.

She nodded understandingly and said, "I can see that, crazy," agreeing with Riley's thrown-together statement. Even though Riley was often Maya's shoulder to cry on, Maya was always open if Riley needed somebody to talk to as well. Riley has had her dilemmas, but they were usually small, simple, and easy to solve.

But this one in particular was slightly complex.

"My parents are arguing! And it's baaaaaaaad arguing! My Uncle Shawn is here and I don't know why!" Riley complained, leaning her head back in aggravation and nervousness. Maya's mouth dropped open in strong disbelief, as she shook her head swiftly and sat up straighter.

"Your parents are fighting? _Cory and Topanga_ are fighting?!" Maya wondered with surprise, double-taking what Riley had said to her. Maya was the kind of girl that didn't hope for anything, believing that if you hope for things, you get dissapointed. She couldn't expect the best, unlike her best-friend, Riley. But even with all of Maya's negativity and doubts, she found in unbelievable that Cory and Topanga were bickering.

"Yesssssss,' Riley exclaimed, extending the _sss_ sound in yes to exaggerate her point to Maya. Maya had never been aware of the Matthew's fighting before, it was honestly something that she thought was luckily impossible. She had always viewed Riley's family as "the perfect family" and loves to be involved with them as much as possible. Riley's family problems unsurprisingly seized to phaze Maya, though, because she was used to sheer dissapointmet and awful surprises. Still, it exceeded to be a shock to her; it was a problem that didn't usually go wrong...hard to explain.

"How long have they been arguing?" Maya wondered, raising her eyebrows as Riley went on talking.

"I don't know! I just found out this afternoon, and it's drving me...me...insane!" Riley dramatically responded. Maya nodded and leaned back, trying to ponder up ways to calm her best friend. She had good knowledge on family problems, but not extremely amazing advice on parental fighting issues. Maya never had two parents before and didn't know what it was like to experience arguing between them. She was sure that they had bickered...before she was born.

Shawn strolled over to the table the two girls were chatting at, along with Auggie. Auggie gave them a small wave, and Shawn said, "Do you guys want to sit here alone, or should we go to another table?"

Maya slightly shrugged, missing Riley's urgent expression that was alerting her to send them to a table that was farther away, and replied, "How about you just sit at the table next to ours," pointing  
to a small table only inches away from them.

Shawn grinned in response and led August over to the table, sitting down. He leaned his head on his hand and glanced over at Riley, away for a minute, then back, and offered, "So...do you want to know something about your parents?"


	7. Nothing Too Serious

oo

Riley gripped the edge of the table and innocently scowled straight at Maya, who was carelessly looking away from her, and talking with her Uncle Shawn and her brother.

As Maya allowed them to, her "uncle" and her brother sat down at the table across from them, causing Riley to tensely sink down in her large, cushioned seat. She wanted to have some alone time with Maya to talk...Maya was the only person her age that she could trust with her pensive feelings.

Everyone was silent for a few minutes after that. Auggie leaned back in his chair with his head pressed to his chest, tiredly anticipating for his meal to come. He had no clue that something so natural was bothering the senses out of his sister; he lacked any idea of how lucky he was at the moment.

Riley nervously bit the insides of her bottom lip, repetitively pondering over how extremely surprised Maya had reacted over the news of her parents fighting. Usually, Riley would be excited over the fact that Shawn and Maya have gotten closer and were almost acting like father and daughter at this point; that was what she had hoped to happen. Though even the happiness of Maya wasn't enough to dust away her repetitive nerves and memories.

As Shawn's name was called by an employee of the restaurant in order to alert him that their food was complete, Riley bolted upwards in her seat and cupped her hands on top of the table, wishing to rant to Maya again.

xxx

Maya jerked her head towards Riley when she blasted upwards, catching her loose attention. She caught on to Riley's lost expression and felt a burning feeling deep in her stomach.  
Riley really was upset; extremely upset to be specific.

Riley needed experienced advice from Maya, but Maya couldn't come up with what to tell her. She had always been used to feeling depressed and loosing hope, but didn't know the proper advice to fix Riley's ways. Probably because nothing had gotten better for Maya, herself...yet.

Maya's train of thought was broken by Shawn's voice again, repeating the same question he had asked before, "Riley, do you want to know something about your parents?"

Maya narrowed her eyes at Shawn with confusion, then glanced over at Riley to catch her response. Riley nodded her head slowly, which Shawn didn't seem to catch, causing Maya to speak up, "Yes, Riley does want to know something about her parents."

As Riley listened to Maya speak her words for her, she sighed heavily and shot Shawn a nod again, but this time quicker and more attentive.

Shawn folded his hands together and looked around the restaurant for a second, stalling blankly, much to Maya's annoyance. She squinted at him and shook her head, waiting for an answer to Riley's response.

Finally, Shawn began to talk, while Riley tensed up with nervousness, "Well...let's just say that I heard what they were fighting about from your-"

"From my dad of course!" Riley interrupted him, chiming the words that he was obviously about to speak.

Maya laughed under her breath, as Shawn furrowed his eyes and nodded briefly, then took a deep breath and continued to explain, "And it's nothing too serious, just something that can change somebody's life," he slowly told them all, slightly glancing over at Maya.

Maya giggled louder and shook her head playfully, then mocked his words, bellowing, "Nothing too serious, just something that can change somebody's life!"

Shawn laughed a little, but seemed to have a more anxious tone, than humored. Riley simply stared at him with a blank expression, biting her lip and trying to sort out what the problem was.

Auggie, not appearing to apprehensive over the bickering, nodded his head in a "mature" way, then spoke out, "I understand, Uncle Shawn. You may continue," in a witty tone of voice, tapping his fingers against his knees.

Shawn glanced over at Auggie and smiled widely, surprised that he finally spoke out in topic of his parent's argument. Maya's smile faded as she realized that he was finished with their conversation. Her blue eyes widened in a disappointed way, "What, that's the end? Come on, Hunter! You can't just leave us hanging!"

Shawn stopped grinning as well and he pursed his lips into a frown. Maya glared him down with pressure until he spoke up, "Maya, there's nothing else to say," he responded in a noticeably doubtful tone, not making eye-contact with Maya as he replied.

Maya lifted her eyebrows stressfully and inhaled deeply, glancing over at Riley in need for support. Riley accidentally caught her eye, cringing reluctantly. "Uncle Shawn...why won't you tell us why my mommy and daddy are fighting?" she questioned him squeakily, closing her eyes for a second, partly regretting the question.

Shawn was also disturbed by the question, due to how serious and personal the reply was to him. He wasn't angry with Riley for worriedly wondering. "Riley, Maya...the reason they're fighting has something to do with somebody at this table, and not only could it effect your parents if I tell you, but it could also hurt a lot of other people," he muttered, only slightly skimming her previous question. As he replied, he briefly peeked over at Maya again, unintentionally catching her attention.

A dropping feeling arose in the pit of Riley's stomach, caused by the information Shawn had told her. It was nothing specific, but just enough to plant the dread in her mind of her being the reason Cory and Topanga were arguing. She was so worked up with her imagination, that she unfortunately hadn't noticed him nervously glancing over at Maya while he talked.

Maya realized his expression towards her though, again widening her eyes and clenching her fists with negative wonder. Why was he staring at her like that; did she have something to do with this apparently major problem? Maya couldn't sort her thoughts, anxiously wondering what she could have possibly done to interfere with her best-friend's parent's marriage.


	8. Unclear, Unwanted Vibes

xxx

Maya nervously broke her glare with Shawn and unnoticeably frowned, shaking her head for a second and purposely pushing back herself chair with anger. She was annoyed that Shawn wouldn't tell the three kids the entire story, and was unintentionally making Maya feel like it was her fault.

Shawn raised his eyebrows, surprised with Maya's anxiousness as she pulled back and quickly stood away from the tiny booth. She bit her lower lip, feeling bewildered and slightly angry. "I'm going to the bathroom," Maya grumbled under her breath, turning around swiftly to keep from catching anyone's reaction.

ooo

As she stomped her way towards the women's bathroom, Riley blinked blankly, leaning her head back to examine Maya's strong emotions.

Riley stared at Shawn for a few moments, realizing that he appeared worried, confused, and disappointed, absent-mindlessly watching Maya storm further from the table, as well.

Riley lifted one eyebrow and gritted her teeth, then sat up politely and bunched her fingers together nervously. "What's wrong, Uncle Shawn?" she wondered, struggling to use the most casual tone she could form. Hearing his own name, Shawn unawarely jerked his head towards Riley, calmly shrugging his shoulders in response.

"I don't know," Shawn obviously lied to her, looking over at Auggie to check if he was alright, "Hart seems pretty upset. You might when to check on her."

Riley tilted her head backwards for the second time, trying to figure out if Maya had made it to the restroom, or was still sadly trudging away from the booth. When she noticed that Maya wasn't in sight any longer, she quietly stood up half-way, before weakly saying, "May I please be excused?"

Shawn simply shot her another brief nod, while she bolted upwards and practically sprang away from the table. Him and August were both equally as silent, as Riley sprinted towards the girl's bathroom, concerned about her best friend.

Riley was strongly aware that Maya could get depressed easily, and at the simplest actions as well. She always kept in mind that Maya had a rough past, and struggled with the guilt of her father leaving her family, along with her careless, broke mother, Katy. Riley never seemed to feel even the slightest bit annoyed by Maya's often mood swings, knowing that they barely ever concerned her.

Riley gently pushed open the heavy bathroom door, immediately beginning to glance around eagerly, looking around desperately for Maya. "Maya!" she called out, at first yelling loudly, but then cautiously repeating her name quietly, "Maya?"

Maya, who was leaning forward against the bathroom sink, staring blankly ahead of herself, unintentionally catching Riley's inattentive eye and she tilted herself to the side. She slightly stepped forward and turned towards Riley, inhaling heavily and responding, "Riley, what's up?" in a shaky, but casual tone of voice.

xxx

Maya stared straight at Riley, examining her reaction as she walked over to the sink where she was standing. A heavy, flat aching pit formed in Maya's stomach as she clenched her fists worriedly, wondering why Riley had followed her into the restroom.  
Riley elevated herself, raising up onto her heels, then sinking back down repetitively. Maya gulped lightly and gazed at Riley with wide, droopy blue eyes. "Maya," Riley began speaking quietly, placing her hand on top of the damp counter and biting the skin of her lower lip, "Did you hear what Uncle Shawn said?"

Regardless of Riley's polite and caring tone of voice, Maya still grew upset with what she had questioned her, feeling completely guilty over all of her best friend's family issues. The way Shawn was staring at Maya while he was lecturing Riley...it _said_ something. Something so important, that it gave Maya the sudden urge that she was the reason Cory and Topanga were fighting, and that she would be hurt if she discovered the reason why.  
Maya had felt that Riley noticed Shawn's previous hinting expression and nervous tone, but was actually oblivious to the sincere reason Riley anxiously followed her into the women's bathroom.  
"Yes, of course I heard what Hunter said, I was right there," Maya replied in a sappy tone, as her cheeks flushed a deep red with evident shame.  
Much to Maya's surprise, the second she spoke her response, Riley began pacing back and forth across the bathroom walk way, whimpering mindless words to herself as she mentally planned what to say next.  
Fortunately unaware of Maya's nasty way of replying, Riley took a deep, quivering breath and nervously exclaimed, "It's all my fault, Maya, I'm the reason my parents have been fighting!"  
Maya shockingly jerked her head upwards at Riley and her mouth fell slightly open, "Riley, are you crazy? You're the perfect child!"  
She folded her arms across her chest stubbornly and stepped away from the sink counter, defensively determined to convince Riley that she was not the reason for Cory and Topanga's troubles. Though, at the same time, Maya's mind was completely blank; she could not imagine up any reason that she would be the fault for the arguing.  
She was almost positive that she was the problem, and she wouldn't have thought that way if Shawn Hunter hadn't made it clear to her with the emphasis he talked to them with, clearly, unintentionally directing his words towards Maya.  
Maya slumped her shoulders stressfully, when Riley opened her mouth to continue debating. It had gone from a casual Monday, with an average day at school, and a usual morning at home, to a nerve-wracking and secretive afternoon, and Maya was tired of suddenly feeling hopeless and guilty.  
Riley exhaled deeply and frowned widely, tilting her head at Maya and simply muttering, "Who's fault would it be, then?"  
Maya loosened the tension within her shoulders and shook her head slowly, dwelling on Riley's current question. " _Mine,"_ hermind chanted repetitively, her empty, blue eyes giving away her internal emotions.  
Maya hesitated on deciding whether or not to admit her personal accusation to Riley, or to keep how she felt to herself. As she carefully examined Riley's deprived and lost expression, followed by her quick, heavy breathing, and innocent tone of voice, Maya felt sensitive towards Riley's already anxious emotions, and blankly figured that defensively ranting to her, would only devastate the poor girl even more.  
"I'm not sure, but it's not your fault," Maya mumbled doubtfully, swiveling away from Riley Matthews and beginning to swiftly stepping through the restroom doorway.  
At first motion, Riley was confused, feeling that Maya had just gotten into the bathroom, and was leaving so soon. As she silently followed her out of the large bathroom, Riley tilted her head to the side and questioned, "Why did you run away from the table, M-"  
Maya rudely interrupted Riley in the middle of her statement, shoving away the awkward conversation between the two. "I just needed a second to think," she grumbled under her breath, regret tingly making her way over to the booth where Shawn and Auggie were patiently waiting.


	9. What's Wrong With Maya?

After a long, silent, and awkward meal, between Shawn, Auggie, Riley, Maya and at Chilli's, each of them filed out of the restaurant and climbed into the car.  
Shawn shifted into the driver's seat quietly, with his head down, thinking to himself about what he said, and how noiseless everybody in the car was acting. He hoped that he hadn't said anything too convincing, that gave away his nerves or hesitation.  
As Shawn slowly buckled in his seatbelt and started up the engine, he glanced over his shoulder at the three, surprisingly silent kids, who were all squished into the back of the car with blank and puzzled expression's across their tired faces.  
He furrowed his eyebrows and slightly shook his head, "Okay kiddos, what's up?" Shawn wondered, speaking with a confused and desperate tone of voice, completely turning himself around to face Riley, Maya, and Auggie.  
Maya immediately spoke up, pulling herself upwards in her seat and heavily huffing, raising her eyebrows. "Well congratulations on being the first person to break an hour of silence!" she exclaimed in response, evidentially being sarcastic. Riley peeked over at Maya, surprised by her rude attitude towards Shawn. She decided that Maya was just having a bad day, or maybe she didn't get that much sleep the night before, which wasn't anything unusual.  
Auggie leaned his head against the car door, tiredly, closing his eyes and sighing heavily, intentionally avoiding the tense commotion between everybody.  
Shawn's eyes widened slightly, for he was shocked that Maya had spoken to him with a sarcastic tone, and in a disrespectful way. He wasn't too offended or surprised, though; he knew that Maya was an extremely bold girl who believed in the opinions she had, and was willing to speak her mind without hesitation.  
He mindlessly brushed away Maya's choice of words and briefly nodded his head, "Okay Maya, Listen, did I say something that upset you?"  
Maya stared at him with an annoyed expression for a few seconds, then leaned her head back stressfully and rolled her eyes, not responding to his "idiotic" question. Riley turned her head the other way around and sadly gazed out her window, inhaling deeply, overwhelmed by all of the recent troubles between all of the people she was close too.  
Shawn reluctantly realized that Maya wasn't planning to reply to his question at the moment, so he noticeably sighed and swiveled back around in his seat, beginning to drive the white car out of the Chilli's parking lot.  
The brief car-ride contained the exact same sort-of silence as their meal had been: dwelling, forced, and awkward quietness. Shawn stopped his fast car in front of the apartment building that Riley and Auggie Matthews lived in, exhaling heavily and opening his light car-door, preparing to generously walk Riley and Auggie up to their giant apartment.  
Riley gently placed her hand on Auggie's arm, shaking him lightly to wake him from his short, unscheduled nap in the back of Shawn's car. His brown eyes carefully fluttered open, as he stared up at Riley unclearly.  
"Aug, we're home," she explained to him, with her voice dry. She was hesitant to go back inside the house and risk getting even more worked up by her parent's argument. She desperately needed Auggie to be by her side and awake during a tough time like this.  
Auggie slowly unstrapped his seatbelt, stretching his arms up into the air and mumbling, "Okay, Riley," in a groggily tone. Riley frowned slightly and grabbed his hand softly, helping him to stand upwards and slip out of his car seat.  
Riley stepped backwards onto the pavement, and out of the car, feeling the strong breeze of fresh air that suddenly hit her, while she exited. Shawn closed his car door, watching her helpfully lift Auggie out of the back of the car, and onto the rough road, standing side-by-side with him.  
Shawn leaned over and peeked inside the car, examining a stubborn Maya, with her arms folded across her chest, and a scow planted on her face.  
"You coming?" he questioned her, lifting an eyebrow as a wondering gesture. Riley bunched her hands together eagerly, suddenly anxious for Maya to join them, and come home with her and Auggie.  
Maya didn't bother to even glance over at Shawn, avoiding eye-contact as she simply shook her head in response. He pursed his lips concernedly and hopelessly pushed the car door shut, immediately starting to stroll away from the car, along with a disappointed Riley and a dead-tired August.  
As the three of them entered the warm apartment-building, Shawn glanced towards Riley and said, "Hey, Riley," catching her attention quickly, "Do you know why Maya's upset?"  
Riley tensed up nervously and bit her lower lip, considering her response for a brief second. In the restroom, Maya hadn't really made the sincere reason she was angry clear to Riley, only dropping a few hints and puzzled mumbles.  
Riley shook her head sadly and gritted her teeth, muttering, "She wouldn't tell me," in a defeated tone of voice, now looking down at her feet.  
Shawn compressed his lips unhappily and nodded his head, with his eyes ahead of himself again. "Yeah, that's fine," he replied knowingly, approaching their brown front-door.  
Shawn dug his hand in his pocket, searching for the house-key that Cory had goofily given to him about two, long years ago. Feeling the cold, bumpy metal texture immediately, he lifted out the house-key and unlocked the front door, quietly shoving it open, careful not to make any noise.  
Riley scurried in nervously, slowly leading in Auggie, who was trailing behind with his head hung down. She paused and slumped her hands to her side, noticing that nobody was in the living room, as well as the kitchen. Possibly, Cory and Topanga had never even noticed that Riley and Auggie had been out with Shawn and Maya for the past two hours.  
Shawn noticed the emptiness of the room as well, then tilted his head downwards in a guilty sort of way, and made his way back over to the doorway.  
He glanced back up at his niece, Riley, and unintentionally sighed, "Hey, call me if you need anything," he thoughtfully reminded her, half-smiling and nodding his head goodbye.  
"I will...thank you, Uncle Shawn," Riley replied loudly, hopelessly staring at him, with an empty smile and a repetitive nod.  
Shawn placed his hand on the cold, outer doorknob and lightly pulled the door closed. Suddenly, he began to swiftly walk out of the apartment building, faster than he had been strolling before. He was anxious to figure out what was bothering Maya so much, knowing that it had something to do with his earlier responses.  
Shawn shoved his hands deep into his pockets as he nervously stepped up to the car, regaining his casual and calm impression, while normally opening the driver's seat door.  
Right away, he turned his head back towards Maya Hart, who was still silently sitting motionless and stubborn, staring out the window, ignoring Shawn's presence.  
"Maya," he spoke up carefully, not yet gaining her unfocused attention.  
He shifted in his small seat and took a deep breath, then repeated, "Maya," but in a slightly louder and more demanding tone of voice. He wasn't the one to purposely boss her around, but he didn't want her to have trouble, cluelessly trying to fall asleep, worrying about something she had no control over.  
Maya swiftly jerked her head towards him, tensing her shoulders and blankly staring at him. Now that she had forcefully made eye contact, Shawn sadly noticed a more guilty and disappointed look in her blue eyes.  
He looked at back at her for a while, hesitating to hopelessly speak to her, "Maya, what's bothering you? Please talk to me."


	10. Master Plan

Maya briefly shook her head in response and broke eye contact, considering ignoring his question and continuing to sit silently.  
Then, a thought came to her, a curious and desperate idea. If she honestly figured that Cory and Topanga's bickering was related to Maya's personal life, then she had to speak up and ask Shawn about it. He obviously knew all of the answers, relevantly clear because of his wandering glanced and secretive tone of voice.  
Shawn wasn't about to turn around, he was determined to hear a response from Maya. Giving him exactly what he wished for, Maya perked upwards and took a deep breath, forming a serious and just as demanding expression.  
"Listen, Hunter; I know that Mr. and Mrs. Matthews's problems have something to do with me. And don't try to pretend that it doesn't, because I know you, and I know how you think," she commanded sternly, clenching her teeth and cringing as she talked.  
Shawn was shocked by her sudden response, turning away from Maya and taking a deep, heavily breath, looking and slumping down in his leather seat. Maya sat attentively, dominantly turning the tables in their currently heated conversation.  
Shawn shook his head briefly and immediately exhaled, still not making eye-contact with the desperate blonde. "You're right," he hopelessly said slowly, running out of excuses to lure her attention away from the topic.  
Maya's mouth fell open and her shoulders dropped, as the similar aching feeling fluttered in her stomach. She narrowed her eyes and tightened her fists, then shook her head and rose her voice noticeably, "I didn't do anything, Hunter, I would never want to cause Riley pain!"  
Shawn opened his mouth to reply, but hesitated a moment and then signed, having to tweak his revealing response. "It's not exactly your fault, though," he grumbled to her, closing his eyes in a stressed-out way.  
Maya tilted her head sarcastically, unconvinced by his unspecific statement, "Then who's fault is it?"  
Shawn's mind unawarely wandered back to the night he had first entered the Nighthawk Diner, where Maya's mother, Katy Hart, worked. It was Maya's fourteenth birthday, and Katy had seemingly forgotten the event, and ordered an extra-shift of work that whole day.

 _Shawn strolled casually into the Nighthawk Diner, at first glance appearing as a normal customer, but actually ready to comfort Katy Hart about forgetting her own daughter's birthday. He looked up and caught her eye-immediately, suddenly pausing for a minute. The blonde women who was scrubbing off a counter in the middle of the diner, her face looked awfully familiar to Shawn, but he could barely remember where he met seen this short, busy women before._  
 _Focusing on Maya's birthday, he decided to shake away the alarming thought that sent a rush of nervousness through him, figuring that he had simply seen a women who obtained a similar appearance to Katy Hart, before._  
 _"Katy?" he called out, reading the blank, rectangular name-tag that she wore upon her blue waitress uniform._  
 _Katy Hart looked up at him and grinned politely, glancing down at her name-tag and nodding, "That's what it says right here, yeah."_  
 _Shawn tilted his head upwards and said, "Hi," noticing Katy's slight resemblance to her poor daughter, Maya. Her evident familiarity to him continued to ring in the back of Shawn's mind, noticeably distracting him as he spoke._  
 _She kept a smile glued to her face, but responded in a confused tone, for it was unlikely for her to receive greetings like this from customers. "Hi?" she responded welcomingly, then perked up and tilted her head to the side, "What'll it be?"_  
 _Shawn looked down for a second and smiled, stepping forward and sitting down on a small circular seat, and sarcastically saying, "Oh me?"_  
 _He tilted his head back up towards Katy and pursed his lips, cleverly adding, "I'll have some birthday cake."_  
 _Katy slightly narrowed her eyes and leaned forward, "What?" she wondered, cluelessly, shaking her head doubtfully, not sure if she correctly heard what Shawn had ordered._  
 _Shawn kept his head held high, as he flatly continued to disappointedly speak, "What kind of mom are you, Katy?"_  
 _Katy's eyes remained glued to Shawn, as her expression slowly went from puzzled to offended. "What?" she repeated again, turning her head away for a moment and taking a deep breath, "Hey, unless your business with me is tuna melt, meatloaf, or pie, you can walk your nosy_ _little butt right out of here," she demanded sternly, raising her finger in Shawn's face as she snapped defensively at him._  
 _Shawn and Katy stared argumentatively at each other for a few moments, as Shawn only replied with a cold glare, instead of a verbal response._  
 _Katy leaned her hands against the counter, tensing up guiltily and adding, "Who are you, buddy?"_  
 _Shawn immediately replied to her question, shrugging shoulders and introducing himself, "My name's Shawn Hunter."_  
 _As he told her his name, Katy stood up a little straighter and wistfully muttered, "Woah," unclearly recognizing his name from somewhere._  
 _Shawn sat upwards as well and furrowed his eyebrows, eagerly wondering if this women had strangely recognized him as well, "What do you mean 'woah?'"_  
 _Katy struggled to think back to the familiarity, but then shook her head again, focusing more on their debate, than the sudden urge of knowingness. She slightly remembered Maya bringing up Shawn a couple of times, which she used to form her quick and unfocused response, "You're the guy Maya doesn't stop talking about...the Matthews friend," she said slowly, blinking swiftly and shaking her head blankly, "You guys all went on a...'family' weekend together. She had a really good time, and I appreciate it, thank you very much," she continued, once again speaking with a noisy, stern and slightly sarcastic tone, back on track with their unclear bickering._  
 _Shawn raised his hand a few inches off of the counter and nodded quickly, "You're welcome."_  
 _Katy was swift to respond, adding a snarky and threatening comment, "And if you ever question my motherhood again, I will smash a plate over your head," she nodded honestly, glaring seriously._  
 _Shawn smirked at the meaning of her humorous and somewhat empty-threat, "You know what, lady? You already don't like me, so I'm just gonna keep talking, okay?" he explained to her sarcastically, pursing his lips annoyingly._  
 _He was quick to angrily continue speaking, preventing Katy from responding to his last question, "Today is Maya's birthday. What are you doing here since first thing this morning?"_  
 _Katy inhaled deeply and shamefully glanced downwards for a second, then sighed and admitted, "You're right."_  
 _Shawn looked down at the ground for a second, surprised that she seemingly admitted her mistake, hoping that he didn't offend her too much._  
 _Katy raised her voice again and nodded her head repetitively, scowling closely at Shawn Hunter and finishing her statement, "I don't like you at all!"_  
 _Shawn shook his head and smirked at her cleverness, ashamed that Katy was able to trick him into thinking that she cared about her daughter's birthday, for even a second._  
 _Shawn stood up slowly and looked at Katy, now beginning to shout, "Do you think I would walk in here and talk to you like this, if I wasn't so fond of your daughter?"_  
 _Katy rolled her eyes, grinning humorously, and muttered, "Oh, you're fond of my daughter?" she formed an upset glare and slightly yelled, "Why don't you tell me about your vast experience raising a child?!"_  
 _Shawn opened his mouth to fight back, but hesitated for a while, then blurted out an honest and helpless answer, "I don't have any!"_  
 _He watched Katy snicker conceitedly under her breath, then loudly continued to argue, quickly catching her attention again, "But I know you don't work an extra shift at a diner, and miss your daughter's birthday!"_  
 _Katy shook her head tiredly, ignoring what he said, and stressfully responded, "And you know this, because you know so much about relationships?"_  
 _Shawn shook his head defensively and hopelessly exclaimed, "I'm terrible at relationships!"_  
 _Katy's eyes widened understanding as she immediately shouted, "I'm worse!"_  
 _"I don't wanna be!" Shawn laughed sarcastically and sighed, turning away absentmindedly._  
 _"Neither do I!" Katy ironically pointed out, shaking her head quickly, with an absurd expression across her face._  
 _Shawn tilted his head back up at her, shrugged his shoulders, and patted his hand lightly against the counter surface, humorously exclaiming, "Well then we've got something in common!"_  
 _Katy stared at him with a surprised expression for a minute, thinking to herself. Then, she glanced down at the ground and shook her head disappointedly. "Look," she mumbled quietly, then tensed upwards and looked him in the eye, "My daughter likes having you around," Katy admitted to him, then slowly raised her tone of voice again, "But how can you stick around, when every weekend, she told me you go somewhere else?!"_  
 _Shawn shook his head slowly, grinning ironically and defending himself immediately, "I write about places, that's my job."_  
 _Katy shook her head again and sighed heavily, gazing at Shawn sadly in a serious way, "I can't let Maya get close to somebody else who just leaves."_  
 _Shawn obviously, quickly took offense to her statement, cringing upwards and firmly placing his hands down on the counter. "Ok, hold on, first of all, I'm not a leaver, alright?! I'm a stayer, I'm the one who gets left!" he yelled sincerely, narrowing his eyes demandingly at an upset Katy Hart._  
 _Katy slumped her shoulders, with a deprived, understanding linger in her deep, blue eyes. "Well we got that in common too," she admitted to Shawn, shamefully turning away from him and picking up her wash-cloth again, sighing heavily._  
 _Shawn shook his head and looked away for a second, in disbelief of what she had just told him. If Maya's father was the one who left Katy, regardless of what Maya had told him, then that would mean that it wasn't exactly Katy's fault that Maya was left with an absent-father._  
 _Shawn spoke up confusedly, doubtfully telling Katy, "What do you mean? Maya thinks that you chased away-"_  
 _"I know what she thinks; it's her father!" Katy yelled biting her lip and evidently sighing, glancing back over at Shawn._  
 _"A girl should think well of her father," she added quietly, gazing at Shawn in the eye as she spoke. He appeared confused and lost, surprised that Katy had been left by Maya's father._  
 _Katy Hart honestly didn't know what had happened to Maya's father, or who's fault his absence actually was. She kept that information private to herself, waking up guiltily every morning, with her only single-handed knowledge of her daughter's presence._  
 _-_  
Maya tapped on the frontal headboard of the car, startling Shawn out his deep thoughts, as she loudly spoke up again, "If it's not my fault, then who's fault is it?" she asked him sternly, narrowing her eyes and staring over at him.  
Shawn shook his head mindlessly, clearing his guilty memories, and mentally processing what Maya had just asked him. Unfocused and limited, he was unfortunately unable to come up with an answer for Maya, so he simply shrugged his shoulders and sighed heavily, "I...I don't know, Maya."  
Maya frowned widely and backed away from Shawn, hurt and disappointed that she couldn't get a sincere response out of him. "That's what I thought," she grumbled sadly under her breath, and sunk down in her leather carseat, staring down at the ground cluelessly.


End file.
